Smart Growth America - Nashville Report

Nashville was featured in Smart Growth America's email as a city that has successfully redeveloped its Riverfront. The riverfront has now become "an asset for revitalization efforts" and is a place that people want to go to, rather than simply go by. The fact that Rick Bernhardt, a Nashville planning executive, remarked that "Not any one of the downtown attractions can succeed on its own, but the synergy from different elements, along with the locals and tourists creates something special" points to the importance of good planning. This development took decades, and has helped to revitalize downtown.

Out in Knoxville, a similar process has occurred and is ongoing with its own riverfront. I believe the same is occurring in Chattanooga, and perhaps Memphis and elsewhere as well. Note how although such growth does not automatically tie into bike/walk things, the development of urban landscapes inherently favors biking and walking.